Tough INDIA Bloc Equation Awaits Congress After 3-1 Defeat In Assembly Polls

New Delhi: The assembly poll results are not at all good news for the INDIA Bloc which is looking to unite against the Modi-led BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Congress suffered a 3-1 defeat to its rival BJP which managed to snatch away Rajasthan as well as Chhattisgarh with ease. The state election results have once again invited focus on the Opposition unity and whether or not Congress is capable of leading the alliance into the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Over the past three months, efforts to give the Opposition grouping against the BJP structure and direction have seen minimal progress. The Congress, seemingly banking on a positive outcome in the recent assembly elections, not only delayed seat-sharing talks but also avoided meaningful arrangements with opposition parties in the three crucial states.

Now, with its credibility in question, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has called for a bloc meeting on December 6, marking a significant interval since the last coordination meeting held on September 13. As concerns rise, some opposition parties are openly questioning the Congress's ability to effectively challenge the BJP and suggesting that regional parties take the lead in their respective states."

While analysts remain divided on the extent of influence Assembly election results wield over Lok Sabha polls, the 2019 general elections unequivocally demonstrated that their impact was minimal.

Just a year before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, in 2018, the Congress secured victories in all three states that now seem to be slipping away in 2023. In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress, led by Kamal Nath, clinched 114 out of 230 seats, falling just two short of a majority. (The government later fell due to Jyotiraditya Scindia's rebellion.) In Rajasthan, an Ashok Gehlot-led Congress secured 100 out of 200 seats, one short of a majority. Meanwhile, in Chhattisgarh, a Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress celebrated a decisive triumph with 68 out of 90 seats.

Despite the Congress's success in the 2018 Assembly elections, the party couldn't translate its vote share into success in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. However, the BJP's experience in 2023 might differ, given that its victories are widely attributed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whereas the Congress's 2018 wins were led by regional leaders.